NBA Cup Pick'em Pool for 2026 — free for friends
The NBA Cup turns a handful of November nights into games that count twice: for the standings and for a trophy. An NBA Cup pool has your group pick the winner of every Cup game, from the first group-play night to the final. It opens on Sportpoolz in time for group play — free, with no money involved.
Free forever — no credit card, no money changing hands.
How an NBA Cup pool works
It is a pick'em pool on NBA Cup games only. Group play runs on set nights, mostly Fridays, from late October to late November; the knockout rounds follow in December — quarterfinals, semifinals and the final in Indianapolis. You pick the winner of each Cup game, straight up, and each game locks at its own tip-off.
Every correct pick is a point, nobody is eliminated, and the standings run from the first Cup night to the final — a short, self-contained pool that fits inside the regular season.
How pick'em scoring works on Sportpoolz →
Sportpoolz is not affiliated with or endorsed by the NBA.
What the manager sets
The games choose themselves — only Cup games count — so the manager's job is the group: how many members the pool takes, between 2 and 30, and how winners are recognised, including the tiebreaker for a level finish, a guess at the total points in a designated game.
Key dates for the 2026 NBA Cup
- NBA Cup group play: October 30 – November 27, 2026
- NBA Cup quarterfinals: December 4–5, 2026
- NBA Cup semifinals: December 8–9, 2026
- NBA Cup final, in Indianapolis: Friday, December 11, 2026
A sample Cup run
- First Friday: you pick every Cup game on the night and go 5–2.
- Through November: a few more Cup nights, a few more points. One team you backed every week wins its group.
- Quarterfinals and semifinals: fewer games, so every pick moves the standings more.
- The final: you are one point behind the leader and on opposite sides of the last game. It decides the pool.
Common questions
Do regular NBA games count in an NBA Cup pool?
Only Cup games. Group-play games also count in the NBA standings, but a game that is not part of the Cup is not on the pool's schedule.
Can I run an NBA Cup pool alongside a season-long NBA pool?
Yes. They are separate pools with their own picks and standings, and one account can be in both.
Be ready the day it opens
Sportpoolz is free. Create your account now, and starting your pool takes a couple of minutes once it opens.